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Stewardship

Stewardship. . . What do you think about when you hear that word? To me it means taking care of and using wisely what God has entrusted to me, and I think it encompasses much more than money. What has he entrusted to me?

• Money. Living within our means and according to a budget is a huge part of stewardship. But beyond just saving our money, are we honoring God with how we spend it?
• Resources. I also think about natural resources and the environment. How am I being a steward of the earth? I recycle, I use reuseable bags at the store, I buy things used, try to re-purpose things we have, I use Freecycle, we are able to pass down clothes in our family, etc. Am I doing enough to take care of the earth? How green is green enough? Often I take surveys that ask something like "are you willing to pay more for products from eco-friendly companies?" My answer is usually no because being "eco-friendly" could mean they put bricks in all their toilets, for all I know. I find I need to have a balance in managing our money and managing our environment.
• Time. This is the great equalizer, isn't it? We are all given the same amount of time in a day. How am I honoring God with how I spend it? Am I giving time to Him and to others?
• People. Am I raising my family to honor God? Am I being a good example to them and to others?

There are other areas that require stewardship as well, and these questions and more are ones I wrestle with. Finding a balance is always a challenge, but as long as we're working on it, hopefully there is progress.

On the topic of stewardship and managing resources, I watched a 30-minute version of the movie I.O.U.S.A. Wow, what an eye-opener! Our country is in a world of hurt financially, and this movie was made BEFORE all the federal bailouts that have happened in the past year. I encourage you to take some time to watch the movie. Even if you only watch the first 10 minutes, you'll get an interesting history of our country's federal debt from the very beginning. The movie was well done and is non-partisan, meaning it doesn't lay the blame for our country's mess on any one person or party. It lays out the federal debt, and shows its ups and downs throughout the history of our country. It's been accumulating for quite awhile now, and it's only getting worse due to our fiscal irresponsibility. Our generation has lived in an age of prosperity, and as a country we often feel a sense of entitlement. Our "live for today, easy credit and consumption-oriented society" has left us with a mess. As individuals, we need to scale back and save money. As a country, we need to scale back and save money. In the video, it shows a short called "Squanderville versus Thriftville" by Warren Buffett. Which side are you on? Which side is our country on? What can we do about it? This isn't about pointing fingers or blaming anyone. Choices and circumstances have contributed to these problems. I don't mean to be a doom-sayer, but if we as a country don't wake up and do something, we are going to be in serious trouble.

Rebate for Huggies

Did you know you can get money back for buying Huggies diapers? It's true!

It's been awhile since I've mentioned The Caregivers Marketplace, and since I might have some new readers I thought I'd better mention it again. I scrounged around for diaper receipts last year after I heard about this program. I sent them in and got a check for $26 back! Save your Huggies receipts and submit for $0.75 back per jumbo pack. They give rebates for other items, too, like Nature Made vitamins, Cottonelle flushable wipes, Pull-Ups, Glucerna, and more! So far I have receipts for 20 packs bought this year. You can send in more than once a year, but you need to have a minimum of $5 rebate in order to send in for a check. Yay for money back on diapers! :-)

Spending--6/24/09

Here's my "haul" for this week. I got these items for FREE: Fisher peanuts, Activia yogurt, band-aids, BBQ sauce, Crystal Light to-go packs, chocolate milk, pudding mixes, frozen Banquet dinner, and Cascade rinse agent.

I got the following items for $0.50 or less: wipes, Doritos, Ritz Bits, saltines, Solo cups, mac and cheese, ketchup, Ajax, and tomato sauce.

I got these items for $1 or less: bread, tortillas, chocolate chips, peanut butter, Eggo Swirlz, Bagel-fuls, sausages, pasta sauce, Altoids, marshmallows, and angel food cake.

Strawberries from our picking trip: $9.75
Target: $4.46 (12 items)
Groceries: $34.29 (48 items)
Received rebate from Reynolds Foil: -$2.99
(submit for $2.99 rebate for Windex wipes)
Week 4 Total: $45.51
Week 3 Total: $73.49
Week 2 Total: $44.01
Week 1 Total: $38.47

JUNE TOTAL: $201.48
I didn't quite stay under $200 like I did in May, but I'm happy since I was still able to stay under our regular monthly bill of $275. Passing up deals at Walgreens and CVS has helped immensely. I know I could have gotten free toothpaste this week at Walgreens and free SoyJoy bars at CVS, among other things, but choosing not to go saved us money! I do have some ECBs that will be expiring, though, so I'll have to go in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully there will be some sweet deals!

I wanted to let you know that I'm planning to take a little break from tracking my shopping and taking pictures. I'll attempt to not totally fall off the savings wagon, though! I won't give up the bargain-hunting completely, so I will probably post some things throughout the month, but it may not be weekly.

However, All You has a grocery challenge starting July 13th, so I will probably start back up again that week to track my progress. The challenge is to spend no more than $25 per family member per week on groceries, including eating out, but not including household items. That would mean I would "get" $150 per WEEK for food! The prize is $1000 and a year's supply of Knorr side dishes. Click on the link to sign up for the challenge, then keep track of your progress and your receipts. Should be fun! :-)

Spending- 6/17/09

This week's overall total is higher because I bought diapers at Target and produce at Aldi, in addition to my regular double coupon day grocery trip where I did 4 transactions. My before-coupons total at the grocery store was over $108. After coupons: $55.15! And that doesn't include sale savings!

At the grocery store, the cereal deal was even better than I thought because this time the coupons took off the full $3.50 per gallon of milk, even though milk was only $1.99! So when all was said and done, after doubled coupons and sales, I ended up paying $0.67 for 6 boxes of cereal AND 2 gallons of milk! The cookie dough deal coupon took off $3.25 for the milk, so for that deal I paid $0.74 for 2 cookie doughs AND a gallon of milk! This is one of the ways couponing can save you money on items that don't usually have coupons, like milk. Another nice surprise was a $1 off your next order coupon ($1 OYNO catalina--blog lingo) from Kraft that printed after one of my orders, which I used on my next transaction. I don't know what I bought that got me that offer, but I was happy to use it! The cookie dough and milk was a "sweet" deal, but now I have to return the cookie doughs because of the Nestle recall. It's a bummer, but it'll help me with my waistline and my wallet, since now I ended up making money on this transaction after free milk and coupons!

Aldi: $5.01 (8 items)
Target: $22.53 (8 items) (submit for $2.25 Caregivers Marketplace rebate)
Groceries: $55.15 (51 items)
I have to return 3 Nestle cookie doughs due to recall -$9.20
WEEK 3 TOTAL: $73.49

Week 2 Total: $44.01
Week 1 Total: $38.47
June Total so far: $155.97 with one week to go!

I just love shopping on double coupon day! Have you seen it helping your grocery bill? Did you take advantage of the cereal and milk or cookies and milk deals? I'd like to know if this is helping you save money, so please leave a comment!

Spending--6/10/09

Besides my CVS trip on Sunday, I also went to Target and the grocery store this week (on double coupon day, of course!).

At Target I got 2 Kraft BBQ sauce, a bottle of Kraft salad dressing, and 2 Kraft Mayo for $0 after coupons! I actually would have had $0.15 overage, but I didn't buy anything else, so they just adjusted my total down to $0.

I also went to the grocery store where I did 4 separate transactions so I could use more of those great Kraft coupons that were expiring this week. My store only doubles 5 coupons per $25 order, so this way I was able to double 20 coupons. I also used some coupons for free products (like Free Chocolate Friday and free Diet Mtn Dew from BzzAgent) to help reach my total. Highlights were free Cheerios, free Wheat Thins, free 100 Calorie Packs, free Philadelphia cream cheese, free Cascade rinse agent, free Easy Mac, and of course free Diet Mtn Dew and free chocolate! Almost free items included Jell-O pudding (for Amish Friendship Bread), Triscuits, Minute Rice, Flat Earth Chips, and Ortega enchilada sauce. I also bought coleslaw and sausage to make our version of Mahndu (a Korean dish our family likes), bread flour so I can make more delicious homemade bread, produce, milk, garlic bread, ice cream, and 2 meals worth of ribs.

I have to admit I screwed up. I could have saved more if I had read the fine print. The Triscuits, Wheat Thins, and 100 Calorie Packs were on sale 2/$4, but there was a limit of 2 per transaction. I bought 4 each in 2 transactions and had to pay $0.79 each for 2 boxes of crackers and $1.19 each for 2 boxes of 100 Calorie Packs, when I could have bought 2 each in my 4 transactions and gotten them all for free. Sigh. This has happened to me before, so you would think I would learn to read the fine print!

On a more positive note, I received some rebate checks in the mail from items I had bought in February and April. Since the purchase of those items came out of the grocery budget, the checks go back into the grocery budget.

Groceries: $51.17 (59 items)
Target: $0 (5 items)
Rebate Checks Received: -$3.47 (Grande Chips) and -$3.69 (All-Bran)
Week 2 Total: $44.01
Week 1 Total: $38.47
June Total so far: $82.48

How about you? Are you getting better at the grocery game? Is your monthly bill lower?

Weekly Spending 6/3/09

It was so thrilling last month to come in almost $100 under budget! I don't know if I can keep it up, but it'll be fun to see if I can come in under budget again this month.

This week I went to Aldi, Target, CVS, Walgreens, and the grocery store, and still only spent $38.47 OOP! I was excited to find Kraft BBQ sauce at 50% off (.84), so I was able to use those $1 coupons and make .16 per bottle even without doubling the coupons! I got free Yo-plus, free Philadelphia cream cheese, and almost free Minute Rice, Deluxe Mac n Cheese, and Campbell's soups. I also bought a gallon of 2% milk and some plain yogurt to make some homemade yogurt--yummy!

CVS: $0 OOP (diapers, pasta, ibuprofen, throat coolers-used ECBs and a Nabisco sweeps gift card, have $10 ECBs left)
Walgreens: $0 OOP (2 honey-used Wags gift card from the last of the rebates)

Aldi: $12.18 (10 items)
Target: $0.01 (9 candy bars, 2 salad dressing)
Groceries: $26.28 (39 items)

TOTAL: $38.47
How did you do this week? Did you find any great deals?

May Week 4 Spending

We're almost to the end of the month, so how did you do on your savings goals? I went to 2 stores this week, Target and the grocery store. Here are the totals:

Target: 4 candy bars, 2 trial size sunscreen, band-aids, and 2 packs of 10 cups each
Used: 4 Target coupons, 2 printables, and 1 from All You
Total: $1.21

Groceries: 3 gallons of milk, dishwasher detergent, paper towels, 4 Bagel-fuls (.55), 4 Ritz Toasted Chips (.50), Salad Finishers (free rebate item), 2 dozen eggs, bananas, strawberries, green beans, lettuce, grapes, peaches, yogurt (free), McCormick onion seasoning (free), ketchup (free), salad spritzer (free); 26 items in two transactions
Used: 14 coupons (only 10 were doubled; 8 were printables and 2 were for free product)
Total: $25.92! (and submit for $2.79 rebate)

Week 4 total: $26.13 (26 items plus Target)

Week 1: $55.82 (51 items plus CVS and Wags)

Week 2: $51.03 (25 items)

Week 3: $53.23 (55 items)

May Monthly Total: $186.21!

My intention was to shave $50 off my $275 budget by doubling less coupons at the grocery store. Well, that didn't work (especially last week when I doubled 20)! I've been trying to do less grocery stockpiling (it's hard to stop cold-turkey!) and we've been using more of what we have on hand. However, saying no to Walgreens and CVS has really helped my budget this month, and I was still able to surpass my goal! It's been fun to challenge myself to save!

Some of you left some savings goals for May in the comments. How did you do? Even if you didn't leave a comment earlier, but you challenged yourself to shave a little off your budget this month, I'd love to hear how much you saved and how you did it! Please leave a comment!

May Week 3 Spending

I did my double coupon shopping yesterday and there were GREAT deals to be had! I hope a lot of you were able to get in on the action, too!

I just couldn't pass up all the free stuff, so I did 4 transactions. I know, call me crazy, but I had 20 coupons I wanted to double! I wanted to do more, but I really had to keep my spending in check. I'm just hoping some of the deals I had to pass up will come around again. And I'm sure they will! ;-)

Even though I spent over my $40 self-imposed challenge, I counted the trip a huge success because I was able to do 4 separate transactions and keep my coupons in order, AND I did it with 2 kids in tow in less than an hour! Praise the Lord, F fell asleep on my back in the Ergo and H was a super-shopper! I spent about an hour planning my transactions at home before I went. I had things all divided up so that each transaction would be between $26-$28 before coupons. After coupons, my totals were $6.42, $18.31, $13.66, and $14.84 for a grand total of $53.23 for 55 items. I saved $54.72 just in coupons!

Among my deals were free Mtn Dew, Wheat Thins, Triscuits, Crystal Light, and marshmallows, and $0.50 graham crackers and sliced cheese and $1 shredded cheese. I had free coupons for the Kashi waffles and Cascade Rinse Agent that I used to help me get to $25 for one of the transactions. I also got a free gallon of milk after buying 4 Tombstone pizzas. (The pictures aren't of the 4 transactions, it's just how I laid stuff out. One of the milk gallons leaked all over the Mtn Dew on the way home, which is why that picture was taken outside.)

Week 1:
Groceries: $38.36 (34 items)
Aldi: $14.77 (17 items)
Walgreens: $1.98
CVS: $0.71
Total: $55.82

Week 2:
Groceries: $51.03 (25 items)

Week 3:
Groceries: $53.23 (55 items)

May Total so far: $160.08 and only a week and a half left to go! Since I was hoping to save $50 of my $275 monthly household budget, I'm on track! Even though I've been spending an average of $50 a week on groceries, I've been saying no to Wags and CVS, which honestly hasn't been hard for me the past couple weeks, even with the $5/$25 coupon at Walgreens today. I'm just not a fan of the Register Rewards, so now that they don't have the rebates anymore, I probably won't shop there as much. I'd like to go to Target, but I've been hesitant because I have not had good luck there with coupons and have left empty-handed and flustered too many times. I know there are deals to be had, so we'll see if I get up the courage to go before the month is out.

What about you? How are you doing with your May savings goals? Are you on track? What are you doing to save? I'd love to hear an update, so please leave a comment!

May Week 2 Spending

Week 2:
Groceries: $51.03 (25 items)

I went over my $40 goal for groceries this week, but I didn't go to any other stores, so it should all even out at the end of the month (I hope!). The biggest purchase was the dry milk, which was $13.59 even on sale (ouch!). I use this to make our homemade hot chocolate mix, which Ted puts in his coffee every morning (cuts down on the Starbucks!) This size dry milk will make 6-7 batches, and each batch lasts him a month or two since he only uses a scoop at a time, so at least I won't have to buy it again for awhile!

Some good buys this week:

• McCain Smile Frozen Potatoes, FREE after $1 doubled coupon (June All You)
• 2-3 oz. Philadelphia Cream Cheese, FREE after $1 doubled coupon here
• Muir Glen diced tomatoes, better than FREE after $1 doubled coupon
• Fiber One yogurt, FREE after $1 doubled coupon
  
• SunChips, $1 after doubled coupon (April All You)
  
• 2-8-pks of Juicy Juice, $0.95 each after doubled coupon
• 4 Kellogg's Mini-Wheats, $0.50 per box after $1 doubled coupons

Other items were apples, pears, bananas, carrots, milk, chips, hamburger, garlic bread, and string cheese.

Total spending from Week 1 and Week 2: $106.85

How to Spend Less on Groceries

I've gotten some questions about how I am able to spend $275 a month or less on groceries for a family of 6, so I wanted to highlight a few tips to get you started.

Couponing (especially internet coupons and doubling coupons) helps a lot, but stockpiling when things are on sale (rock-bottom prices) is I think your best way to get bang for your buck, especially if you aren't good at couponing. Do you have an Aldi? They have better prices on some items, so I stop there usually once a month to stock up on staple items. Make a list of what items are cheaper there than at your grocery store.

Check on your store policies. Do they accept competitor coupons? Do they accept internet printable coupons? Do they double coupons? If so, what are the restrictions? The more you know, the more you can save!

Set a weekly dollar amount and shop with a list and a calculator. Stick to your list and use your calculator to keep a running total so you don't go over your budgeted amount. If you have to pass up a deal, remind yourself that it will come around again.

We do some meatless meals (at least once a week) which helps on the bill. Keep in mind my kids are young and don't eat a WHOLE lot yet! :-) We also don't have any food allergies, so we don't have to buy special food.

Hang around awhile and see if you pick up more tips! Check out the "Coupon 101" and "Couponing" tabs on the right side of my blog. Pick one store to try using more coupons until you get good at it. I'm here to help, so let me know if you have more specific questions! I do this to help other people save money! :-)

A question for you. . .would it be helpful to you for me to be taking pictures of what I buy each week, like Money Saving Mom does? I'll do it if it would be helpful to people, so let me know if you'd be interested in this.

May Week 1 Spending

It was hard, but I was able to meet my goal of staying under $40 at the grocery store this week. Because of items I was getting for free after doubled coupons, I did two transactions and doubled 8 coupons. I might have normally found 2 more coupons to double, but I didn't want to go over $40 just to double 2 more coupons. I'll admit it was hard restraining myself!

I did have to make a trip to Aldi because my in-laws were here this weekend and it seemed like we ran out of a lot of staple items at once! I told myself I only had $15 to spend there, though, so that kept me from stocking up too much. We are trying to use some of our stockpile instead of creating too much more.

In order to keep things in check, I passed up some deals at Target that I might have normally gone for, but that we didn't need. I also had to leave some items on my grocery list for next week in order to come in under $40, but we didn't need them for the meal plan this week and hopefully I'll be able to get them next week.

Week 1:
Groceries: $38.36 (34 items)
Aldi: $14.77 (17 items)
Walgreens: $1.98 (2 gallons milk, used RRs) (have $9.33 on gift card left)
CVS: $0.71 (2 wipes, 3 cereal, 2 detergent, misc.) (used $18.99 ECBs, have $7 ECBs left)
Total: $55.82

I'm glad some of you decided to challenge yourselves this month and make a savings goal as well! How are you doing? What strategies are you using to help you meet your goal?

If you haven't made a goal for May yet, it's not too late! How much would you like to save this month, maybe to put towards summer activities or vacation? Leave a comment and we'll work on saving together!

End of April Spending and May Goals

To stay under our $275 grocery budget for April, I had to be careful at the grocery store this week. I had $40.14 left.

In order to keep my grocery bill in check, I made a conscious decision that I would only double 5 coupons. It was also a personal challenge to see if I could pass up some deals that we don't need right now in order to save some money. At my grocery store, I usually to do two $25 transactions in order to double 5 coupons per order, for a total of 10 per week.

Normally spending $50 a week before coupons isn't a problem, and I can still stay under budget ($50 x 4 weeks=$200, which leaves me $75 wiggle room for Walgreens, CVS, Target, etc). However, since I had 5 shopping days this month, I had to squeeze a little more at the end of the month or I would have gone over ($250+Walgreens, Target, CVS, etc.).

Week 5:
Target: $4.04 (4 boxes of wipes and 4 Dry Idea Deodorant)
Groceries: $36.67
Total: $40.71

I went over by $0.57. However, I got a rebate check for $6.99 for the Organix Shampoo from last month. Since I counted that in my March spending, I think that $6.99 should go back into my grocery budget, don't you? That means I actually have $6.42 left! Woo Hoo, I did it!

And now I think I have my challenge for May: to try to shave a little more off our grocery bill by limiting the number of doubled coupon deals I go for. There are only 4 shopping days in May (because I shop on Wednesdays), so if I can keep my total around $35-40 a week, I'd only spend $160 on groceries, plus whatever I get at Walgreens, CVS, and Target. I'll also try to limit the number of deals I go for at those stores so that I can save even more money this month. It'd be great if I could save even $50 (making my total for the month $225)! We'll see how I do!

Do you want to make a goal for saving in May? I'd love it if you'd share your goal with me and we can work on saving together! Your goal will be different than mine, but the idea would be to challenge yourself to save this month. Please join me!

April Spending

I did a cash experiment in March to see if it made a difference in my spending. It made me keep closer track of where our money was going to do things that way, but I decided to do things differently this month to see if there was a difference. So in April I used my credit card as usual to pay for my groceries and Walgreens purchases, but I kept my receipts so I could keep track of my spending. So beginning April 1st, here are the results:

Week 1:
Groceries: $41.31
Walgreens: $15.03 (have $2 RR left) Total: $56.34

Week 2:
Groceries: $48.99
Walgreens: $0.65 OOP -used gift card for the rest (have $5.50 RR left)
CVS: $0 OOP -used ECBs and gift card (have $13.49 ECBs left)
Walmart: $22.90 Total: $72.54

Week 3:
Groceries: $57.33 (and submit for $3.49 in rebates)
CVS: $0 OOP -used ECBs and gift card (have $10 ECBs left)
Walgreens: $9.74 (have $7 RR left) Total: $67.07

Week 4:
Groceries: $37.18 (and submit for $6.68 in rebates)
Walgreens: $1.73 (have $2 RR left) Total: $38.91

Overall Total $234.86

To be honest, I had been typing in my numbers each week, but I hadn't been keeping a running total. When I added it up just now, I was hoping I'd be under $275 so I would be able to get groceries next week and still stay under budget! With $275 as my total, that leaves me $40.14 for next week. If I'm careful I can probably do it, but squeezing 5 weeks in (because I always shop on Wednesdays--double coupon day!) makes it tight!

How do you keep within your grocery budget each month? Do you use cash or credit cards? What do you do in months where there are 5 weeks?

Cash--Week 4

Here's my weekly cash only update. It's almost the end of the month!

Walgreens: $7.48
CVS: $0 OOP (used a gift card)
Groceries: $37.95
Aldi: $9.43
Walmart: $5.24 (more on that deal later!)

At the grocery store I used 2 printable coupons, 1 from the newspaper, 2 from the store, and 3 from All You. Glad to see that I'm saving some money from that subscription! My best deals were four free taco seasonings, some almost free juice boxes, and some cheap veggie chips and V8 soup. I also stocked up on sliced cheese, so we won't have to buy that for awhile! I was able to keep my total lower this week, which I was happy about (though I'll admit I would have spent more at Target and Walgreens if I'd been able to get what I wanted to. . .)

Week 4 Total: $60.10
Week 3 Total: $84.51
Week 2 Total: $76.65
Week 1 Total: $45.74

Total Spent: $267.00

There are a couple more days left in the month, and I usually do my Wags and CVS shopping on Tuesday if there are deals I am interested in, so those would have to come out of this month's grocery money. Thankfully, my grocery day is Wednesday, which will be the beginning of a new month! My goal was to keep things under $275 for the month, so if I'm careful, I should be able to do that. And knowing that I have only $8 left to spend should help keep me in check! :-)

CVS and Walgreens

I went to both CVS and Walgreens tonight. I used up my RRs at Walgreens from the diaper deal and rolled some ECBs at CVS.

At Walgreens I bought 2 dozen eggs, 2 bottles of vitamins for the kids, some Softsoap, an assortment of cold, allergy, and pain medications, and 2 toothpastes. Total before coupons and RRs was $51.78. I used 2 RRs, 4 store coupons, 1 coupon from All You, 1 from the Colgate promotion, and 2 from the newspaper.
Walgreens Total OOP after RRs: $7.48
Submit for $3.99 rebate+10% bonus=$4.38 total rebate


At CVS I bought 3 shampoos, 1 toothpaste, and 3 12-packs of Mtn Dew (keeping this stocked is one easy way I can "do my husband good"!). Total before coupons and ECBs was $30.21. I used a raincheck, 4 coupons from the newspaper, 3 from the mail (Pepsi/Frito-Lay Promotion), I was refunded $1.69 from last week, and I used $12.99 in ECBs. The toothpaste and shampoo were free after ECBs, and after coupons and ECBs I got the Mtn Dew for $1 per 12-pack!
CVS Total after coupons and EBCs: $3.02
(used gift card, so $0 from my grocery $!)
Still have $7.98 ECBs from last week
Received $14.49 in new ECBs

I have a lot of ECBs left, but I'm not worried because the week of 4/5 CVS has a similar deal on diapers that Walgreens had: buy $25, get $10 in ECBs. So I'll be able to use ECBs and coupons to pay for more diapers, and still end up with new ECBs! We always need more diapers in our house. I've been buying diapers for 6 years straight without a break, and often for more than one child at a time. I am happy to report, however, that M has been consistently dry at naptime for a couple of weeks now, and has been dry at night for 7 nights in a row! Yeah M! We are SO proud of you (and our wallets are happy, too)!

Cash Spending--Week 3

Buying with only cash and seeing how much is in the envelope to last the rest of the month does make me stop and think before I run out and grab something. I still ended up spending more this week, though. . . because I hit 4 grocery stores. I bought a few things on my fact finding trip at a "new-to-me" grocery store, went to Aldi to stock up on some staple items, spent less than usual at my grocery store, but then hit another store on Friday for a good deal on pasta and chicken. Lesson: Shopping at 4 grocery stores in one week isn't good for my wallet. Though some might say $80 isn't bad, it's more than I'm used to spending. If I can cut back next week, hopefully I'll still be okay for the month.

CVS: $1.04 (I should be refunded $1.69 next week when I go back)
Walgreens: $1.53
Target: $4.14 (more applesauce!)
My fact-finding grocery trip: $7.63
Aldi: $20.41
Groceries: $49.76 (at 2 more stores)

Week 3 Total: $84.51
Week 1 Total: $45.74
Week 2 Total: $76.65

Total Spent: $206.90

At Walgreens I used an RR from the diaper deal, at CVS I used ECBs, and at Target I used Target printables. At the grocery store I used 10 printables, 1 from All You, 1 from a mailer, 4 from the store's ad, 1 coupon that I won in playing the Kraft sweeps, and the $3.50 off Milk catalina from the cereal deal. At a different grocery store I used 10 in-store coupons.

Double Coupon Day

I LOVE Double Coupon Day! Here are my highlights, after sales and coupons:

Orange juice: $0.98
Arnold 100% Whole Wheat Bread: $0.98
Cookie Mix: $0.50
2 boxes Organic Cereal: $0.50 each
Ground Hamburger: $1.89 lb (I had to restock the freezer, so I bought 9 lbs.)
12-pk. Mtn Dew: FREE (after sale and a $2 coupon from the Kraft sweeps)
2 packs Toaster Strudels: Better than FREE
6 boxes of Cereal AND a Gallon of Milk: $0.66 TOTAL!

Total Spent: $33.59

H had been asking for Toaster Strudels for weeks (I got some for free a few months ago with coupons), but I'd told her they were a special treat only, and that we couldn't get more until I got another good coupon for them. Yesterday afternoon just before I left for shopping, I saw a $1 coupon on Money Saving Mom and printed it off quickly, planning to use it next week. But when I got to the store, they were on sale for $1.79, so I GOT PAID .21 per box that I bought! She also alerted me to a $1 coupon for Honey Nut Cheerios which I was able to use for the cereal deal!

Remember, this store doubles 5 coupons per $25 order, so if you split your groceries into 2 orders, you can double 10 coupons. I don't go in twice, I just keep my groceries separate in my cart and put them on the belt with a bar in between. I also keep my coupons separate by clipping 2 paper clips to the front of my bag (which holds my coupon binder, reusable shopping bags, a calculator, pen, scissors, etc). It only takes a few extra minutes to do it this way, and you could save an extra $5 a week (by doubling 5 $1 coupons, taking $10 off instead of only $5). It might not seem like much, but that's over $250 a year!

Fact Finding Mission

When it comes to shopping, people usually have pretty strong opinions about their grocery store of choice. Many people love Aldi, and I've been giving it more of a chance lately, stopping maybe once a month to pick up a few things, but it is somewhat of a hassle since they don't have everything. I only go to Walmart every few months to use certain coupons. Yes, some of their prices are lower, but I don't think they're unbeatable. I don't have a warehouse membership, but they don't usually accept coupons anyway, so I doubt I would shop there. Besides, the idea of paying money up front in order to reap possible savings doesn't appeal to me.

It's no secret I'm a big advocate of double coupon days at my local grocery store. There's another grocery store in town that is HUGE. I have several friends who shop there and swear by their lower prices and gigantic selection. It's across town for me (20 minutes away as opposed to being 5 minutes from *my* grocery store), so it's not very convenient. To be honest, hearing friends describe how big it is also puts me off. I like my smaller grocery store. I know where everything is and can be in and out in under an hour.

A lot of people have been asking my advice on where to find the best prices, though, so in order to give an educated decision, I left the kids with Ted for a few hours and went to the HUGE grocery store on a "fact finding mission". Armed with a notebook and pen, I wrote down the prices of most of the items I usually purchase. After I got home, I compared those prices with old receipts from my shopping. Some prices were lower, some were not.

I get some free or almost free groceries each week on double coupon day. But do the prices for the other groceries eat up my savings in coupons? That depends on how you shop. I tend to stick pretty closely to the sales items and try to stockpile when things are at a low price. This is how I am able to keep my grocery bill lower. That's another reason I like my store--because they have a weekly ad. The other store does run sales, but there isn't an ad, so I wouldn't be able to plan my purchases each week.

To try to be fair in evaluating the prices of the two stores, I made a list of 28 different items that I regularly buy (milk, eggs, cereal, pasta, yogurt, grapes, carrots, etc.) and went on a mock shopping trip for about 2 weeks worth of groceries. I wrote down the prices for those items at my store and the other store. If there was a coupon for the item, I applied it (doubled at my store, single at the other store). If my store had a sale price, but it was for a perishable item (like milk or produce), I applied it only half the time, since I wouldn't be able to stockpile that item. It wasn't an exhaustive list, but I hoped it would give me a fair representation. This would be for almost 2 weeks worth of groceries, except for perishables, which I only bought for one week.

The result? Drumroll please. . . . ! On my mock shopping trip, shopping at my grocery store on double coupon day saved me over $15 over the other store ($101.74 to $117.76). It certainly made me feel better! Though to be honest, I wouldn't want to change my store anyway, because combining the price of gas to go across town and the extra travel time to get there wouldn't be worth it. (Well, maybe it would've if the price difference was substantial--then I might have to think about it!)

A person who only shops once a month or who doesn't have time for coupons may be able to save more at another store, I don't know. And I haven't done this same comparison at Walmart, so I can't be sure the same would be true. I suspect I might still save over Walmart's prices, and part of that is because of cereal and yogurt, which my family eats a lot of, but I pay little to none for at my grocery store after sales and doubled coupons.

The bottom line is this: Shop where you feel comfortable shopping and remember there are opportunities to save wherever you go. Your grocery bill might be higher because you have kids with allergies who need special food or you have teenagers who eat you out of house and home! But I encourage you to take a look at your grocery bill and see where you are able to shave a little off. Then look into how you might do that (maybe by starting to clip coupons!). And if you aren't able to save on your grocery bill, look for other areas you could be saving (like on items at Walgreens or CVS or staple items at Aldi).

In this economy especially, people are looking for ways to tighten up their budget, so my goal is to help, not make people feel guilty. If there are other ways I can do that or questions you have, please let me know. :-)

Cash Only--Week 2

I was thankful that my Walgreens gift card was recharged in time to use it for the diaper deal, so I didn't have to dip into my grocery money for that. I did go to Target and spent $20.66. Groceries this week were $55.99. I know I went over, especially at Target, but I rationalized that I hadn't spent much last week. I guess we'll see how the rest of the month goes! We're almost halfway there!

Week 1 Total: $45.74 (groceries and Walgreens)
Week 2 Total: $76.65 (groceries and Target)
Total Spent: $122.39

At the grocery store I used 7 printable coupons, 2 coupons from the newspaper, 1 peelie I found on a product at the store, and 1 store coupon. I also submitted for a $6.99 rebate. At Target I used Target printable coupons, 1 newspaper coupon, 2 coupons I got in the mail, and 2 printable Mott's coupons.